Pages

Disclosure

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. I take pride in giving my honest opinion and assessment of all the products that are submitted to me and experiences I may be given. I reserve the right to opt out of publishing a review if I do not feel that I can be fair about my opinion.

As the owner of this blog, I may accept forms of cash advertising or sponsorship. There might also be paid topic insertions. I will and do accept and keep free products, services, travel, tickets, and other forms of compensation from companies and organizations. The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog..

I believe in honesty and integrity therefore I will always give my personal opinion-whether or not it shows a product or company in a favorable light. Compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post will be clearly identified as paid or sponsored content.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are purely and entirely my own. I do not claim to be nor make an effort to be an expert on a certain topic, product or service. I will only endorse companies, products and services that I believe, based on my own experiences, are worthy of endorsement. All product or service claims should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.

#WOWSummit 2014, is approaching fast! The conference will take place in the ever-popular Orlando, FL Nov. 7-9, 2014. Some of the great sponsors lined up for this event include Zevia, zero-calorie soda, Kiwi/Kiwi Shop and FluNada.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Nanny and Poppy gave Lil' Miss some Halloween hair bobbles for the upcoming October holiday. I was doing Katy's hair, this morning, and she was selecting which one to wear. As she was hemming and hawing, she enthusiastically exclaimed, "These (hair bobbles) make me burn with delight!!"

(I did not make that up- straight from Katy's mouth!!) Oh my goodness, that girl cracks me up!! The things she says....!!

Hello and welcome to our fifth installment of the LLK Peasant-Style Sewalong. All week, we've been sewing up the Aria Ruffle Dress. Wasn't it fun?! A peasant dress was one of the first "official" things I learned to sew, several years ago. I'm a self-taught sewist and I remember being so proud of myself for actually sewing a dress that my daughter could wear!

The great thing about a peasant-style dress is the fact that everyone- from beginners to seasoned sewists- can end up sewing a really beautiful dress. There is so much room for personalization and creativity!!

Specifically speaking about the Aria Ruffle Dress, here are some of my personal favorite things:
-One page of patterns. That's it! No wasted ink, no gobs of tape. One! Page!
-I love that I was able to use so many different scraps of material and still create a gorgeous (if I do say so, myself ;-), cohesive dress. This dress also brings back so many memories of projects past- The bodice was left over from Lil' Miss' Easter 2014 dress, the Side Sashes were from the very first sewing pattern testing I did, Lil' Miss once selected the sparkly dot fabric used in the tuxedo ruffle. All together, it just makes me smile!
-As with most peasant-style dresses, I love that there are no buttons (except for trims), zippers, etc. Lil' Miss can easily dress (and undress) herself.
-While I didn't have time to sew one up (yet!), the Aria Ruffle Dress comes in a doll size! Yay!
-The length of the Aria Ruffle Dress is, as the three little bears would say, "Just right." Not too short, not too long.... just right. :-)

I also had time to sew up this sweet, little coordinating Princess or Birthday Crown for my little princess. So quick and easy, you'll be making crowns for everything.... including, say, Halloween (which will be here before we know it! ;-).

Thanks so much for joining us this week, in the LLK Peasant-Style Sewalong! Also, thank you for allowing me to be your leader, this week, in this fun sewalong. I hope that you had as much fun as I did sewing up the Aria Ruffle Dress!

Don't forget to submit pictures of your finished dresses on the LLK Cafe- you could be one of our winners! Please use the hashtag "#LLKPEASANT" in order to be considered for a prize. There will be three winners selected. One from each of the following categories, 1)Fan favorite, 2)LLK favorite, 3)Participation Winner (selected by www.Random.org).

Attaching the Skirt to the Bodice:
Sew through "Attaching the Skirt to the Bodice." Don't forget to finish your edges and topstitch around the bodice.

Trims and Details:
Now, here is the point in the sewalong where you get to pull out the fun notions! For me, I have these sweet little sparkly cupcake buttons that are the perfect compliment to the cupcakes in the skirt of my dress.

See, aren't they darling?!

Cupcake buttons- how sweet!

I sewed the cupcake buttons onto the tuxedo ruffle. I just love the little accent of sparkle and whimsy they add to the dress. So fun! Let your creativity shine! Feel free to add trims and details to your dress for your own personal flair.

Preparing the Skirt:
Sew through "Preparing the Skirt." Feel free to add trim, lace, etc. to your skirt. I did not add any special trim to my skirt. In fact, I decided to use two longer panels- instead of four shorter ones- for my skirt. My fabric choice for the skirt was kind of busy, so I thought it had enough "decoration," as is. :-)

Ruffles:
Okay, let's talk about ruffles.... I have a love/hate relationship with ruffles. I love the sweet girly-ness that they add to a dress. I hate the teeny, tiny hems to iron and I hate all that gathering!! But, for the sake of the Aria Tuxedo Ruffle Dress, go ahead and do the ruffle. Trust me, you won't regret it! Plus, included in the Aria Tuxedo Ruffle Dress tutorial on slide 19 is a fun, different way to gather fabric- check it out!

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

This past weekend, we got our in touch with our "Dixie side" and attended the Dixie Classic Fair with our friends, the Keys family. The weather was drizzly and a little too cool (for my liking!), but the girls had lots of fun riding the rides (and not having to wait in lines!).

At one point during the day, we consulted our fair schedule and decided to attend the acrobat show. As we were walking over to where the show was supposed to be, Katy asked us where we were going. Our friend, Justin, answered, "We're going to see the acrobats."

Horrified, Katy turned around and vehemently exclaimed, "I don't want to see BATS!!" I hate bats!!"

Mistakenly, Katy had thought Justin had said, BATS show, not ACRObats show. I don't blame you, Katy- I'm not much one for bats, either.... ;-)

The Peachy Dress and Playsuit has a ton of options to sew up- dress, playsuit, shoulder frills, neck frills, etc.! I chose (er, rather, my four year old chose ;-) the Dress with Shoulder Frills option.

-Included in this pattern are six different options- Basic Dress, Basic Playsuit, Shorts, Dress with Shoulder Frills, Romper with Neck Frill and Pillowcase Dress/Top. Essentially, that boils down to six different patterns for the price of one. Win!
-This pattern is written for size 2-14. That's a huge size window, which means that it will last a long time!
-Because of the bias binding for the armholes (and in my case, the shoulder frills), the end product looks really finished and polished. I was really happy with how a little bias tape helped "finish" the dress and add detail.
-The pattern is written for woven fabrics. Because of the multiple pattern pieces, this allows for some creative mixing and matching of fabrics and patterns. I loved mixing chevron, polkadots and a busier design together in one, cohesive dress.
-Any pattern with pockets is a win with my daughter. She LOVES anything I make for her that includes pockets. With this pattern, you have the option of in-seam pockets or exposed pockets.

-I really like the cinched elastic waist on this pattern. This helps define the dress and not make it so loose and baggy.
-I made the size 5 and I felt like the dress fit my daughter well. She's in an awkward in-between sizes (between size 4t and 5t in ready to wear) and the size 5 fell right at the top of the knees. The bodice was roomy without being voluminous.

Pertaining the the tutorial and pattern pieces themselves, here are my thoughts:

-LOTS of pictures throughout the tutorial. The pictures are clear and descriptive. They definitely aided in my understanding of the overall pattern and sewing process.
-I liked that each step was written almost like a bullet point, in it's own box. Easy to understand. Clear, concise and to the point.
-Because of the size of the tutorial (79 slides, total- including pattern pieces!), you do tend to do a bit of scrolling and referencing.
-The tutorial is well-written and easy to understand. Steps are described fully and without question.
-Personally, I appreciate when a designer shows a picture of their pattern piece layout on the fabric. This helps me understand which way to cut my fabric and how to get the most out of the yardage.
-Also, I LOVE when a designer shows a picture of the pattern layout. This is really helpful in putting together the pattern pieces. Honestly, in my opinion, this is one of the single-most helpful thing a PDF sewing pattern designer can do to ensure a successful pattern! No questions on how to put the pattern together- love that!

I had a very pleasant experience reviewing the Felicity Sewing PatternsPeachy Dress and Playsuit and I would recommend this pattern to others. The hallmark of a good pattern is wanting to sew more than one. Well, I definitely want to sew this pattern, again! :-)

Take one bodice piece and lay it right side up, horizontally, like so:

Bodice Piece laid out.

Fold it over (left to right- fold should be on your left, when viewing the fabric).

Bodice Piece folded.

Place your armhole pattern piece in the upper right corner (see picture, below). Make sure that your top, straight edge is lined up with the top, straight edge of your bodice piece. Make sure that the side, straight edge is lined up with the UNFOLDED, straight edge of your bodice piece. Mark and cut out armhole. Repeat this step with the second bodice piece and the 2x sleeve pieces.

Pattern Piece Placement.

You should end up with something that looks like this:

Sleeve Piece and Cutaway Shown (Same applies to the bodice pieces).

Tuxedo Ruffle:
Now, take your tuxedo piece and sew through "Adding the Tuxedo Ruffle." This is where I'm going to jump in with a couple of my own notes. The tutorial says to start ruffling 1/2" down. Personally, I would have started down- approx. 1"- to prevent extra bulk when creating the neck casing. Ruffle and gather your tuxedo piece to be shorter than the height of your bodice piece. This is where I took my center waist sash, laid it on top of my bodice and estimated where my ruffle needed to stop so that it would not create extra bulk under the center waist sash (and yet still lay smoothly under the center waist sash). For size 5, my ruffle was approx. 5" long (not including the smooth, un-ruffled part that will eventually lay under the center waist sash). See picture:

Attached Tuxedo Ruffle.

After you have attached the tuxedo ruffle to the center of the front of the bodice, feel free to add trim/lace. I added a bit of ric-rac to hide the center of my ruffle.

Center Waist Sash:
Take your center waist sash piece and fold one long edge under 1/4" to the wrong side of the fabric. Do this for one side, only! Line up the top edge (that you just folded under 1/4") of the center waist sash and place it 5/8" under the bottom armhole opening.

Center Waist Sash Placement.

Make sure you are straight and even across the width of the bodice. Using a narrow seam allowance- I like to use the inside of my presser foot as a guide- attach the center waist sash to the front bodice. Trim any excess fabric (I did not personally have any extra fabric hanging off the edges). You should end up with something like this:

Attaching Sleeve to Bodice:
Using the pattern- front bodice, sleeve, back bodice, sleeve- sew along the armhole openings. Right sides should always face right sides. You should end up with something like this:

Bodice and Sleeves.

This would be a great time to finish your edges where the bodice meets the sleeve, etc. Serge or use a narrow zig-zag to finish and prevent fraying and unraveling. I do not own a serger. So, I just use a narrow overlock stitch to get the job done. :-) Easy peasy.

Side Waist Sashes:
Now it's time to sew the side waist sashes. Sew through "Preparing the Sides Waist Sashes."

Don't forget to topstich around three sides, leaving one short end open. Align the top edge of your now finished side sash with the top edge of the center waist sash. Pin in place.

Side Sash Placement- align sash tops.

Preparing the Bodice:
Sew through the step, "Preparing the Bodice." Just a friendly reminder to make sure that your side sashes don't get in the way of your side seams!

At this point, your bodice should look something like this:

Bodice without elastic neckline/sleeves.

Adding Elastic to the Neckline and Sleeves:
Sew through "Adding Elastic to the Neckline" and "Adding Elastic to the Sleeves." Use the measurements on slide 15 to mark/cut the elastic for both the sleeves and the neckline.

Secure your elastic! (Nobody said that it had to be pretty- just make sure it'll hold!)

A little tip- watch out for your tuxedo ruffles when you are creating the neckline casing..... ask me how I know.... ;-P

Monday, October 13, 2014

Hello, lovely readers! Today, I'm thrilled to take part in the Little Lizard King October Sewalong! This is my first time leading a sewalong and I'm really excited to guest on the Little Lizard King blog, and right here on All Things Katy!

Welcome, welcome, welcome readers new and old, sewists of all levels and those of you that just want to have a little sewing fun!

What:

-A sewalong is a personal sewing challenge done in "community" with others throughout the internet. It will end in the creation of a beautiful peasant-style dress.

When:

-This week- Monday, October 13, 2014- Friday, Friday, October 17, 2014-, we're sewing up peasant-style dresses (Personally, I'll be sewing up the Aria Tuxedo Ruffle Dress). I will do one blog post, each day, walking you through the steps of creating the Aria Tuxedo Ruffle Dress.

-Winners* (Yes, I said WINNERS! :-) will be announced after Monday, October 20, 2014

How to get started/join:

Interested in joining? (I bet you are! Did I mention that there will be winners selected at the end of the sewalong?! ;-)

-Second, follow along with the sewalong on either the Little Lizard King blog, or, right here on All Things Katy! I'll be posting daily, with pictures, tips and suggestions.

-Lastly, using the hashtag,#LLKPEASANT to share your beautiful creation(s) on the Little Lizard Cafe (Facebook Sewing Group). You MUST use the hashtag, "#LLKPEASANT" in order to be entered in the contest.

*There will be three winners selected. One from each of the following categories, 1)Fan favorite, 2)LLK favorite, 3)Participation Winner (selected by www.Random.org). And, a teeny, tiny birdie told me that if you wow the socks off of the judges, we just *might* add a fourth winner for "most creative." *Hint, Hint* Halloween is right around the corner and these peasant-style dresses would be PERFECT (and quick to whip up!) for all those pint-sized princesses out there! ;-)

Okay- is everybody ready? Let's get started!

*****
Day 1- Getting Started

If you've gotten this far in the blog post, you are ready to roll! You've already purchased the Aria Tuxedo Ruffle Dress pattern (or, the Princess Dress pattern). Go ahead and read through the tutorial(s), If you have any questions, feel free to hop on over the Little Lizard Cafe and post your questions. We'll try to help along the way. :-)

Now, print out your pattern piece. For both the Aria Tuxedo Ruffle Dress and the Princess Dress there is just one page of pattern pieces to print. One! That's it! No pattern assembly required. No tape needed.. Couldn't be simpler- just print, cut out the appropriate size (For the sake of this sewalong, I'll be sewing the size 5. Any measurements that I reference throughout the sewalong will be pertain to size 5.) and be done- love that!

Now, here comes the fun part- select your fabric! Look through your fabric stash (Or, if you are lucky enough, go SHOPPING :-) and decide what fabric should be the bodice, which should be the sash, the skirt, the ruffle, the sleeves, etc. Another really great thing about the Aria Tuxedo Ruffle Dress is that it has a kind of "bohemian" feel to it. This means that as long as all the fabrics have the at least one little part with the same color, it will more than likely coordinate and flow as an overall dress.

Sadly, my Lil' Miss is getting to the size where just one yard of fabric isn't enough for a full dress. I've been sitting on this Michael Miller Sweet Treats fabric for some time now, not sure what to create. So, combined with various other scraps, the Aria Tuxedo Ruffle Dress is a perfect way to use up my hoarded precious fabric!

Our final task for Day 1 of the LLK Peasant-Style Sewalong is to cut out our fabric pieces. Cut the fabric according to the "Measurement Chart" on slide 3. Cut according to the size that you are sewing. Once again, for the sake of this sewalong, I'll be sewing a size 5. For the Aria Tuxedo Ruffle Dress, each pattern piece will be a rectangle (Tomorrow, I'll show you how to use the armhole pattern piece we printed out, above). For now, just cut out your rectangles. Press each piece so that it's nice and smooth.

Bodice and Sleeves

Side Sash, Center Waist Sash, Tuxedo Ruffle

Skirt

(This gorgeous Michael Miller "Sweet Treats" fabric was too busy (for my liking) to do four separate panels. Therefore, I just added the width of two panels and cut two pieces- one for the skirt front and one for the skirt back.)

Skirt Ruffle

Once you've selected your fabrics and cut your pieces, go ahead and take a little break. We'll be picking up, right here, tomorrow. See you then!

Sunday, October 12, 2014

The other night, Katy was fighting bedtime (what else is new?!!). After asking for one last story, one last glass of water and one last million other requests, I sternly instructed her that she was, "....not to leave her bedroom for any reason other than going to the bathroom..."

We didn't hear anything after that.

Our usual routine before going to bed ourselves, is to go in and check on Lil' Miss. Well, we were in for a surprise! When I cracked open the door, I couldn't find Katy anywhere on her bed! Panic! Then, I scanned the room and found her sitting straight up, sound asleep in the corner of her room.

Oh, that girl loves to fight bedtime! In the end, though, sleep won.... (and, I'm totally using this picture as blackmail in those awkward teenage years.....! ;-P)

Monday, October 6, 2014

Last week, we had the opportunity to go see Disney on Ice, Princesses and Heroes. We didn't tell Lil' Miss where, or what we were doing until we were literally in the car, en route. Instead, we decided to make the whole outing a surprise.

Boy, was she surprised!

First, we did a meet and greet with Snow White and Belle. Katy was SOOOOooo excited!

Then, after some nosh and some hugs from the princesses, we headed into the rink to enjoy the show. Our seats were nice and close and we had a fairly clear view. Of course, Lil' Miss insisted on some popcorn (we nixed the $12 cotton candy).

Overall, the skating was really good and the show was entertaining- even for the adults. Katy was mesmerized the whole time. Personally, I found it lots of fun to watch Katy's face/reactions to the show. To say that her emotions were written all over her face would be an understatement. She insisted that every time a princess waved in our general direction that she was waving just to her. Ha!

It was a late night (on a school night, no less!), but we had fun on our special Disney on Ice outing!

**UPDATE 10/12/14**

Thanks to Phase3, our lovely hosts for our fun evening of Disney on Ice, Princesses and Heroes, we got some pictures of Lil' Miss posing with the princesses. THANK YOU!! :-)